Trump says N.Korea threat must be 'dealt with rapidly'

US President Donald Trump has made halting North Korea's weapons program a top foreign policy priority

President Donald Trump called on Monday for the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and ballistic programs to be "rapidly" tackled, as he thanked visiting Indian leader Narendra Modi for rallying behind sanctions on Pyongyang.

"The North Korean regime is causing tremendous problems and is something that has to be dealt with, and probably dealt with rapidly," Trump told reporters in the White House Rose Garden after holding his first talks with Modi.

Trump also thanked India for "joining us in applying new sanctions against the North Korean regime."

The US president has made halting Pyongyang's weapons program a top foreign policy priority.

Despite international condemnation and sanctions, North Korea has a small nuclear arsenal and is developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that threaten Japan and South Korea -- and one day could even hit some US cities.

Washington has 28,000 troops deployed in South Korea and a naval armada in the region.